NORMAN — Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops made headlines this summer for stating his belief that SEC dominance in college football was nothing more than propaganda.

Divyon Bray, 4, who has attended 30 OU ball games, sits on the shoulders of her grandfather Randy Grant, Shawnee, as they join several hundred fans gathered to welcome the University of Oklahoma Sooner (OU) football team as they return victorious from the Sugar Bowl on Friday, Jan. 3, 2014 in Norman, Okla. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman

On Friday afternoon, after arriving back at the Switzer Center following the Sooners' 45-31 win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, Stoops took one last shot at the preseason perception of the Crimson Tide — and the SEC — being unbeatable.

“So much for the big bad wolf, right?”

Stoops' troops had taken down college football's goliath, and OU fans — like their coach — were ready to gloat.

“Alabama being a traditional power, and being on top so much lately, puts the emphasis on how big a win it was,” said Stacey Witter, a 48-year-old fan who came from Mustang to greet the team as they returned from New Orleans.

“But they're just like us. (OU) has been doing it a long time, too. We've been there. I've been telling people we're not a program that will ever be overwhelmed by any opponent or moment.”

The Sugar Bowl win as a 16 1/2-point underdog brought back memories of the Sooners' 2000 national title game victory over Florida State. That game, played on Jan. 3, 2001, marked the last time OU was a double-digit underdog in a Bowl Championship Series game.

MORE FROM NEWSOK

by Trent Shadid

Copy Editor

Trent Shadid is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He was born and raised in Weatherford, Okla., and attended Weatherford High School. Before joining The Oklahoman, he spent two seasons as an assistant wrestling coach at Weatherford High...